Almonty Asks Investors to Greenlight a Mine Expansion as Pentagon’s Tungsten Deadline and Russell Index Entry Converge

Almonty Industries seeks shareholder approval to double tungsten processing capacity amid 900% price surge and Pentagon's 2027 import ban on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

When the Pentagon bans tungsten imports from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea on 1 January 2027, it will rip a hole in a supply chain where Beijing already controls more than 80% of global output. That three-year countdown is turning Almonty Industries into one of the most closely watched names in critical minerals. The company’s Sangdong mine in South Korea is already producing commercially, and management wants shareholders to approve a near-doubling of its processing capacity before the US defence edict takes effect.

The shareholder vote—ballots must be submitted by this Friday—includes not only the expansion plan but also the confirmation of the board and the appointment of Jorge Beristain as chief financial officer. Beristain, a former Wall Street analyst and Ryerson executive, took the role in early June and will oversee the financial side of the ramp-up. The company ended March with US$259.9 million in cash, a cushion that gives the board room to move.

The case for expansion is underpinned by a stunning rally in tungsten prices. Over the past twelve months, the benchmark ammonium paratungstate (APT) contract in Rotterdam surged roughly 900% to around US$3,185 per metric tonne unit, before easing to US$3,040 more recently. At the start of the year APT was changing hands at US$920. That price explosion has already transformed Almonty’s finances: first?quarter revenue jumped 221% to US$25.4 million and adjusted EBITDA came in at US$6 million.

The market has taken notice. Almonty’s stock trades at C$27.98, comfortably above its 50?day moving average of C$26.62. The shares have gained 496% over the past twelve months and 133% year to date. Institutional backing is solid: FMR LLC holds a 6.5% stake, while Germany’s Deutsche Rohstoff AG owns 4.9%. The next catalyst arrives on 29 June, when Almonty will join the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices, compelling ETF managers to add the stock to their portfolios.

Sangdong’s first phase is already processing roughly 640,000 tonnes of ore per year. The Phase 2 expansion approved by the board would lift that to 1.2 million tonnes, corresponding to more than 460,000 MTU of annual tungsten output. A binding offtake agreement with Tungsten Parts Wyoming guarantees at least 40 tonnes of tungsten oxide per month for the US defence industry. Meanwhile, Almonty is advancing two other projects: the Gentung Browns Lake facility in Montana is expected to be ready for production in the second half of 2026, and the L4 expansion at the Panasqueira mine in Portugal targets a spring 2027 startup.

Oppenheimer has lifted its price target on the stock to US$25, and analysts project full?year earnings of US$0.30 per share. The next hard data point comes in August when Almonty reports its quarterly results—a test of whether the Sangdong ramp?up is on track to meet the Pentagon’s deadline. With the Russell rebalancing imminent and the shareholder vote days away, the company is entering a defining window in its transformation from developer to a cornerstone of the West’s tungsten supply chain.